Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-05-26
and instead OF on the water.

land instead OF on the water.
Here was an instance of boat seeming
so much and the water so little; on the
great Mississippi, however, with which the
writer's regiment had already had so much
to do, the water appeared vast and i'm
mense while the boat dwarfed into mere
speck in comparison.
The scene of General Weitzel's and Com
modore Buchanan's fight in the January
previous and of General Emory's about the
middle Of April, was passed before reach.
ing Franklin. Here was seen the wreck
of the burned Confederate gun-boat Cotton.
By the way, Commodore Buchanan, who
lost his life here on board the calhoun
and whose first name was Mexican, was an
officer on board the "Congress," destroyed
in Hampton Roads in March, 1862, by the
Confederate "Merimac" commanded by al
oscn brother, Franklin Buchanan, of the
Southern navy Thus in the the great civil
war was brother pitted against brother il
deadly strife.
Franklin, a considerable town on the
bayou, was reached, and here the command
stopped fol-. a time, but, after little, sew
eral regiments, including the writer's
were pushed on to New iberia, another
important place on the Teche.
Nearly all the inhabitants were French
and many of them could not speak En-
glish, the latter fact was true of the ne
groes as we'll, and it was amusing to hear
them talking in a foreign tongue.
A black face had so long been associated
with "negro talk' that this departure wal
curious and interesting.
The well-to-do people lived in quaint
many-gabled, old houses.
Some of them before the war were very
wealthy. These French were genuine
creoles. The October days spent at New
Iberia were delightful in the extreme
soft hazy weather. The foraging partie:
brought in plenty of honey, sweet pota
toes, chickens, and turkeys, and milk il
abundance was procured of the inhabit
ants. Pecans were found in plenty anc
oranges delicious in quality were ripening
in the orchards.
A printing Office was found complete
this was taken possession of by some ex
perts of the writer's regiment, and, upor
the plain side of sheets of wall paper, {
new periodical was started, called the
Unconditional Surrender Grant. OF course
but few numbers were published, bu'
these were of much interest to member.
of the command.
For time here the writer assisted il
fitting up a church for hospital. The
pews were taken out and cots put in a
convenient distances.
A cavalry brigade had gone further on
TO Vermillion Bayou, and here had an en-
gagement with the enemy. There were
quite number wounded, and it was fol
the reception Of these that the church wai
extemporized into a hospital. In thu
afternoon when they were expected coffee
and tea were made, and soup, beef tea
milk punch, toddies, ETC., prepared. Tn,
ambulance train, however, did not get il
till in the night. The wounded wer,
transferred from the ambulances to cot;
in the church, nearly all of which wer,
| finally filled. Most of the injuries re
ceived were from musket balls.
The wounds had, however, been dressed
and well cared for before starting, ant
any needed amputations made at the tim,
or soon after injury. In day or two thu
wounded were all put on boat, and wen
in this way to general hospital.